OSP withdraws motion to dismiss Bissue’s application to enforce human rights

The Human Rights Court 2 has struck out the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s motion for the dismissal of former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining, Charles Bissue’s, application for the enforcement of human rights.

This followed an oral submission for a withdrawal of the application by counsel for the OSP, Seth Ansong.

Justice Nicholas Mensah Abodakpi, who presided over the matter, has thus directed the OSP to file its written submissions in response to the application for the enforcement of human rights within 7 days.

Counsel for the Office of the Special Prosecutor, led by Seth Ansong, prayed to the court to grant them leave to file the necessary processes after the court asked him to officially file a reply to the preliminary objections as raised by counsel for the respondent.

Lawyer for Charles Bissue, Nana Baffour-Awuah Agyei argued that the withdrawal of the motion by the OSP ought to be made formally rather than through an oral submission.

“It is a procedural impropriety to do that orally,” he stressed.

Justice Abodakpi, however, opted to admit the oral submission and ordered lawyers of the OSP to file its affidavit in response to the application by the former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining for the enforcement of human rights.

Background

The suit was occasioned by a series of “threats,” as referred to by the lawyers of Mr Bissue, from the OSP in respect of its investigations into “Galamsey Fraud Documentary Part 1” and that of the IMCIM, following allegations by the former Chair, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng.

The OSP had escalated its actions, declaring the former secretary of IMCIM “Wanted” and publishing the same, claiming the latter failed to honour a direction for the investigation of allegations of corruption involving him.

Among other reliefs sought by the lawyers of Mr Bissue is an order to prohibit the OSP from applying for arrest warrants and hounding the applicant [Charles Bissue] in the name of investigations.

It also prayed the court to compel the OSP to comply with the provisions of L.I. 2374 by providing the applicant with a copy of the petitions, forming the basis of the investigations being conducted, in respect of which the applicant is deemed to be a necessary person.